‘But if the Field Mice were just adorable indiepop amateurs, then why do they sound so slick and stylish? Yeah, they have their sunny strum-a-longs and wistful laid-back jangle– songs so “pop” that it feels like someone must always have sounded like this. But then not so long afterward, didn’t Ride come along in the same stripey shirts and fuzz the exact same stuff up into “higher” art?’

3. Ride, reviewed in the Telegraph, 25th May 2015

When Ride split up, in 1996, it seemed like the end of an exciting but short-lived musical era. After a few heady years in the early Nineties, their brand of shoegaze rock – defined by a wall-of-sound style that layered effects-laden guitar parts, droning vocal melodies and thundering drums – had burnt itself out, and Britpop was on an inexorable rise. By the end of the decade, Ride’s former guitarist Andy Bell had joined Oasis, and the rest had largely faded from view. For fans of the band, it was all rather sad.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Brian Rasic/REX (197678b) RIDE RIDE – 1992

4. Oasis, reviewed in NME, Originally published August 27 1994

‘… we’re somehow supposed to have evolved from beyond these simple pleasures; the buzz of an electric guitar and a young voice yearning simple truths and uncomplicated desires ought to leave us cold because, by definition, something better must now exist. Oasis prove that this need not be so.’ Noel Gallagher is a pop craftsman in the classic tradition and a master of his trade. Of his generation, probably only Kurt Cobain wielded the manipulative power of melody better, and you can’t imagine Noel having many guilt pangs about whether or not ‘Live Forever’ was just that little bit too perfect.

As Nirvana come out on stage, Kurt introduces the opening song, Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam by saying “This song is written by a band called the Vaseline’s. They’re from Edinburgh, Scotland, and they’re very punk rock”. What follows is a truly powerful performance of the song, Kurt really getting into it, noticeable from his voice. When the song ends, the band doesn’t stop to breathe, and Kurt strums into Aneurysm, and turns out a solid performance. At the end of School, Dave jokes with the crowd, “So like 2 percent of you people are in costumes, and personally I think that’s pretty lame, unless you’re all supposed to be punk rockers”.

V For Vaselines’ is a summer album. Its purposes include providing the soundtrack to long, hazy trips to the beach and BBQs in your best mate’s garden. When the British weather prevails, ‘V For Vaselines’ is only a set of headphones away. Throwing a sepia tint over the world with each song that goes by, this is a record that will make you pine, long and lust for the past months spent basking in the sun.